Asking questions in Spanish - Easy Learning Grammar Spanish

TipDon’t forget the opening question mark in Spanish. It goes at the beginning of the question or of the question part of the sentence.

¿No quieres tomar algo?

Wouldn’t you like something to eat or drink?

Eres inglés, ¿verdad?

You’re English, aren’t you?

1Asking a question by making your voice go up

If you are expecting the answer yes or no, there is a very simple way of asking a question. You keep the word order exactly as it would be in a normal sentence but you turn it into a question by making your voice go up at the end.

¿Hablas español?

Do you speak Spanish?

¿Es profesor?

Is he a teacher?

¿Hay leche?

Is there any milk?

¿Te gusta la música?

Do you like music?

When the subject (the person or thing doing the action) of the verb is a noun, pronoun or name it can be given before the verb, just as in an ordinary sentence. But you turn the statement into a question by making your voice go up at the end.

¿Tu hermana ha comprado pan?

Did your sister buy any bread?

¿Tú lo has hecho?

Did you do it?

¿Tu padre te ha visto?

Did your father see you?

¿El diccionario está aquí?

Is the dictionary here?

2Asking a question by changing word order

When the subject of the verb is specified, another even more common way of asking questions is to change the word order so that the verb comes BEFORE the subject instead of after it.

Note that the structure in Spanish is the equivalent of Whoseis this coat?/Whoseare these coats? Don’t try putting ¿de quién? or ¿de quiénes? immediately before a noun.

qué, cómo, cuál and cuáles can all be used to mean what although qué is the most common translation:

use cómo or qué when asking someone to repeat something that you didn’t hear properly

¿CómoorQué (has dicho)?

What (did you say)?

use ¿cuál es ... ? and ¿cuáles son ... ? to mean what is ... ? and what/are ... ? when you aren’t asking for a definition

¿Cuál esla capital de Francia?

What’s the capital of France?

¿Cuál essu número de teléfono?

What’s his telephone number?

use ¿qué es ... ? and ¿qué son ... ? to mean what is ... ? and what are ... ? when you are asking for a definition

¿Qué sonlos genes?

What are genes?

always use qué to mean what before another noun

¿Qué horaes?

What time is it?

¿Qué asignaturasestudias?

What subjects are you studying?

TipYou can finish an English question (or sentence) with a preposition such as about, for example, Who did you write to?; What are you talking about? You can NEVER end a Spanish question or sentence with a preposition.

¿Conquién hablaste?

Who did you speak to?

Grammar Extra!All the questions we have looked at so far have been straight questions, otherwise known as direct questions. However, sometimes instead of asking directly, for example, Where is it? or Why did you do it?, we ask the question in a more roundabout way, for example, Can you tell me where it is? or Please tell me why you did it. These are called indirect questions.In indirect questions in English we say whereit is instead of whereis it and whyyou did it instead of whydid you do it, but in Spanish you still put the subject AFTER the verb.

¿Sabes adóndeiba tu padre?

Do you know where your father was going?

¿Puedes decirme para quésirven los diccionarios?

Can you tell me what dictionaries are for?

The subject also goes AFTER the verb in Spanish when you report a question in indirect speech.

Quería saber adóndeiba mi padre.

He wanted to know where my father was going.

Note that you still put accents on question words in Spanish even when they are in indirect and reported questions or when they come after expressions of uncertainty:

No séquéhacer.

I don’t know what to do.

No sabemospor qué se fue.

We don’t know why he left.

5Negative questions

When you want to make a negative question, put no before the verb in the same way that you do in statements (non-questions).

¿Novienes?

Aren’t you coming?

¿Nolo has visto?

Didn’t you see it?

You can also use o no at the end of a question in the same way that we can ask or not in English.

¿Vieneso no?

Are you coming or not?

¿Lo quiereso no?

Do you want it or not?

6Short questions

In English we sometimes check whether our facts and beliefs are correct by putting isn’t it?, don’t they?, are they? and so on at the end of a comment. In Spanish, you can add ¿verdad? in the same way.

Hace calor, ¿verdad?

It’s hot, isn’t it?

Te gusta, ¿verdad?

You like it, don’t you?

No te olvidarás, ¿verdad?

You won’t forget, will you?

No vino, ¿verdad?

He didn’t come, did he?

You can also use ¿no?, especially after positive comments.

Hace calor, ¿no?

It’s hot, isn’t it?

Te gusta, ¿no?

You like it, don’t you?

7Answering questions

To answer a question which requires a yes or no answer, just use sí or no.

¿Te gusta? – Sí/No.

Do you like it? – Yes, I do/No, I don’t.

¿Está aquí? – Sí/No.

Is he here? – Yes he is/No, he isn’t.

¿Tienes prisa? – Sí/No.

Are you in a hurry? – Yes, I am/No, I’m not.

No lo has hecho, ¿verdad? – Sí/No.

You haven’t done it, have you? – Yes, I have/No, I haven’t.

You can also often answer sí or no followed by the verb in question. In negative answers this may mean that you say no twice.

Quieres acompañarme? – Sí, quiero.

Would you like to come with me? – Yes, I would.

¿Vas a ir a la fiesta? – No, no voy.

Are you going to the party? – No, I’m not.

Key points

You ask a question in Spanish by making your voice go up at the end of the sentence, by changing normal word order, and by using question words.

Question words always have an accent on them.

To make a negative question, add no before the verb.

You can add ¿verdad? to check whether your facts or beliefs are correct.